Current mood:	reflective
Current music:	sia - breathe me

time to nix 2006
and so begins another end.

after re-reading my entries from the past 12 months, i realized that a lot more has happened this year than i thought. and right now, i'm in an overall much less stable place than i was a year ago... but not in a bad way. i'll just say that this is not where i thought i'd be five years ago, but i'm in no way disappointed.

but, moving on. what's happened this year? well, for one, joe left and i've seen him probably 3 times this year. we have frequent phone conversations though, and i'm glad we're keeping in touch despite the distance.

as for my lovelife, i had various "almost" developments there, but i went the whole year without being in a relationship. the last time that happened was way back in 1999.. but i'm pretty happy with the single life and i don't think i'll pursue anything in the near future unless i really meet the right person.

what else? my dad turned 60. both of my parents are pretty sick right now, it's the first time in as long as i can remember that they've both been sick at the same time. i know they're not going to be around forever, but that really hit me this year.

oh, and of course i finished school. looking back on past entries, i realize now that school was never as dreadful as i considered it at times. still, it feels good to be done... yet it's somewhat unsettling not knowing where my life is going.

in last year's "year in review" entry, i talked about my job, and how i found a job that i loved... that all fell apart this year when all of my coworkers were fired. at that point, the job became a paycheck and not much more... and i've almost forgotten what it feels like to actually want to go to work. but, i've put in my two weeks notice there and will move on to bigger and better things.


all of that said, here are some highlights of '06:

• i've added the following to the list of shows i watch regularly: the 4400, justice league, the office.


• i went on a kickass road trip to the icy north... okay, it wasn't that icy. but it was still kickass.


• i switched from a standard toothbrush to an electric one... and my life will never be the same.


• moving on from the "happy holidays" trend of last year, this year's catch phrases include "i don't speak english", "both" (when answering any question), "false.", and various internet abbreviations (WTF, OMG, etc).


• i went the whole year without drinking soda (or 'pop' if you will). as for next year, i think i may go without candy... but i am a certified candy-holic so who knows if that will last.


• i found a solution to my insomnia problems... i couldn't sleep so i was watching infomercials, and i ended up buying this dumb "health secrets" book from one of them. anyway, the book suggested a simple solution of counting down from 100 to fall asleep. and it works like a charm!


• i recorded my first boy band single with matt at cedar point. what's that, you say? you haven't heard it? well check it out here.

i don't have time this year for the annual movie-and-music lists... but my favorite movies this year (that i can think of atm) were: Superman Returns, The Prestige, Little Miss Sunshine, The Fountain, The Pursuit of Happyness, Eragon, POTC2, The Devil Wears Prada, Clerks II, SoaP, The Lake House, Night at the Museum. i'm sure there are more, but that's all for now.

although i didn't post in my LJ too much, here are a few key points i'd like to remember:

• February 6 - "in my opinion the only thing that topped [frito pie] at EHS was the world-famous fiestada pizza. mmm... i swear, if someone can get me one of those things i would be able to die a happy man... they could even bury me in a hexagonal casket."


• May 5 - "and then there are the images, pictures of things in my mind that probably weren't as good as i remember, yet i can see them so vividly: cramming in a car to go to drive-in movies, covered in bugspray and armed with snacks; wandering around amusement parks dripping wet from water rides; grabbing an elephant ear and some cotton candy at the local fair; seeing a movie on a weeknight and leaving the theater to meet the warm night air... these are the things i hope to do every summer; sometimes i do, sometimes i don't... but this year i'm hoping extra hard."


• August 18 - "but i suppose every summer is good in its own right. as a whole, for me, summer is a time of change. it seems like these are the three months of the year where a lot of my interpersonal relationships change and restructure themselves... and i never end up where i started."


• September 21 - "do you ever have a day where you fall in love with everyone you see? you see someone and imagine what your life would be like if they were in it? and i'm not talking about in a creepy myspace kind of way. like, you see a person and think, 'i know nothing about this person walking past me.... but what if i did?'"


• October 3 - "sometimes when you win, you lose." [okay that's totally from What Dreams May Come, but it's a good quote (and a good movie!)]

and what "year in review" entry would be complete without:

January 10, 2006 The last picture of Joe and Larry before Joe's departure for his Navy journey.
	February 17, 2006 My emo-est days.
March 29, 2006 A classic tiny shot of Steve at our Spring semester apartment.
	April 30, 2006 My dad at the Grand Canyon... he went with my mom as an early anniversary trip.
May 5, 2006 This was the final picture I took at our Spring semester apartment... it became my facebook picture for awhile after that.
	June 19, 2006 I didn't actually take this picture, but I found it online while at work in June... is it just me or does the guy in a headlock resemble Larry??
July 29, 2006 Brian on the balcony looking out at the Toronto suburbs... if you look closely you can see the CN tower in the distance.
	August 30, 2006 Not too much of a story here... It's just Steve in the new apartment. This is actually the only picture I have from August.
September 11, 2006 The rockin' tat I got at Cedar Point... I'm still considering getting this done for real =D
	October 31, 2006 Halloween '06. Mrs. Doubtfire. 'Nuff said.
November 23, 2006 My whole family comes to my house on Thanksgiving. This is my brother-in-law and my cousin's son (who's trying his luck at the 4x4 Rubik's cube).
	December 24, 2006 Myself and my grandmothers on Christmas Eve.

and that wraps up another year. i hope it was a good one for everyone out there in internet-land... and i hope that next year's even better.


goodbye, 2006. i'll see you in another lifetime.